The Wizarding Ninjas and the Triwizard Tournament
by Cathy Santiel
Summary: The world of ninjas is about to meet the world of magic as our favourite chuunins set off to Hogwarts. -set in The Goblet of Fire- SasuSaku, NaruHina, ShikaIno, Harry/Ginny & other pairings
1. the letter, the wizard and the nightmare

**A/N: **Yes I know I'm starting a new story instead of updating other ones – I'm awful. But hey, I'm not abandoning my other stories, besides, I wanted to try that new crossover thing. I've been trying to read some good Naruto/Harry Potter crossovers but all the well written are usually yaoi. And I hate yaoi. So I am telling you – this one is romance, yes, but NO YAOI. I'll try updating as soon as I can, because I've already started working on the second chapter. I hope you like it.

**Pairings:** lots of. Mostly still undecided, but there will be some love triangles too. The only definite ones are SasuSaku, NaruHina, ShikaIno. And maybe NejiTen.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto and Harry Potter. Sadly.

* * *

**THE WIZARDING NINJAS  
and the Triwizard Tournament**

**Chapter One: **_the letter, the wizard and the nightmare_

_

* * *

_

The villagers of Konoha could proudly call themselves the most devoted ones among all the other hidden villages; well, at least most of them could. They were the ninjas who fought for their village, abandoned their close ones to participate in a battle, even died to protect it. Both ninjas and commoners were proud of their dead comrades, whose lives were sacrificed for the sake of the village. It was, perhaps, why being born in Konoha was considered to be a lucky thing. People simply _wanted _to live their lives there.

Each common day in Konoha started in the same, normal way. Villagers rushed to their work, children skipped happily to the academy, medics made their way to the hospital, jounins waited patiently for their genin teams to show up. It was in that particular office in the Hokage tower that one could notice a first sign of something peculiar – a blonde woman holding her head in her hands and sighing heavily. The crumpled piece of paper on her desk was, unconsciously, a preview of a big change; and Tsunade was sure that this change will affect not only one world this time.

"Albus, Albus," muttered the woman to herself. "Once again you leave me with the job of breaking the news to their parents."

Hardly anyone had seen the Hokage so exasperated before, mainly because the reason of her current state showed up usually only once a year, if not less often. But the news that the mysterious man had broken to her just an hour ago were the ones that shocked her deeply. The woman groaned inwardly when her eyes once again skimmed the black letters on the paper in front of her.

_-the twelve young ninjas are expected to show up on the last day of August on the London train station. The train leaves at 11 a.m. from platform nine and three-quarters-_

Tsunade shook her head dejectedly and placed a pile of letters on her desk. There was no point in arguing, she knew she could not win against Dumbledore. If he wanted those children, he would have them. They obviously possessed magical abilities and that fact could not be changed.

"Shizune!" called the Hokage, unable to conceal an angry tone of her voice. Her bad mood did not help her work a bit.

About a minute later a young black-haired woman hurried into the office. Her eyes sparkled with sudden curiosity at her teacher's unusual – even for her – mood. Tsunade was known for her short temper, yet again, Shizune could not remember the last time when she saw her in such a distressed state.

"You called, shishou?" she inquired gently, trying not to make her mentor lose her temper. She was well aware how murderous the woman could get while angry. The faint image of the moment when she accidentally spilled her shishou's sake popped into her mind. It was certainly not a happy memory.

"Yes, I have a small errand for you," her superior muttered wistfully. „Please deliver those letters, make sure you do that today, it is extremely important."

Shizune's eyes glanced at the unique writing, knowing that the content of these letters must be somehow connected with the blonde woman's strange behavior. After seeing the signature, the young medic beamed.

"Dumbledore-san visited!" she exclaimed happily. "Oh, I wish I could be there to greet him! Last time he brought those tasty chocolate frogs that seemed to be alive. He's a kind person."

"Yes, he is," admitted the Hokage and massaged her throbbing temples. "However strange it may sound, I wasn't particularly excited about his visit this time."

"How so?" asked Shizune. "He always brings good news and takes our genins and chuunins to Hogwarts. The combination of ninja and magic skills is the most powerful weapon known yet."

"That is true. This time, though, I think that Dumbledore might have gone a little overboard. He usually takes two, three children a year. And that year he _insisted _on taking twelve. And we _need _ninjas," continued Tsunade, ignoring the shocked look oh her apprentice's face. "We are, after all, on the brink of war with Sound. All genins, chuunins and jounins are needed in these unstable times."

"I'm sure that Dumbledore has a good reason for taking twelve ninjas away from the village," reasoned Shizune. "He is not one of those that act before they think."

"Yes, but he is hiding something from me, something very important," muttered the Hokage, clenching her fists angrily. "And he never did before. It can't be normal that twelve ninjas with magical abilities were born in the same year."

"Well, go now," finished Tsunade. "These letters _need_ to be delivered today."

Shizune quickly snatched the pile from her shishou's desk and with a small bow disappeared behind the door. She was not the one to disobey the blonde's orders.

Tsunade once again sighed. Konoha was truly a great place to live in and nothing hurt her more than seeing the sad faces of parents that had to let go of their children for years, even if it meant making them truly powerful ninjas and wizards. And, after four years of school and occasional visits at home, they might not come back from the magical world at all.

* * *

Team Seven was not something to be marked as ordinary. Starting from an obnoxious, loud blonde and finishing on the perverted, masked teacher everything about that team was unusual. Strangely, the three young chuunins were the most promising out of all the young ninjas in Konoha; some would go as far as to call them future Sannins. It just seemed that the three seemed to clash, create perfect combination. The praises kept flowing and Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura did not seem to mind that too much.

The hot July day started off pretty normally for the trio. After performing their own morning routines, Naruto dashed out of his apartment, having already been late for the morning training, Sasuke left his house with a slight wave to his beaming mother, Sakura kissed her parents goodbye and went straight to her team's meeting place. Nothing out of ordinary.

The training was also nothing special for them. After practising chakra control for some time (well, without Sakura, who, having perfected that a long ago, focused on her ninjutsu instead), they sparred for some time, before Kakashi lifted his lazy eye from the perverted book he was reading and exclaimed, "You can go,"

Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura scrambled up to their feet and dashed off to their homes, none of them expecting what would await them behind the doors.

Sasuke opened the huge doors of his mansion and proceeded to go up the stairs to his room when he heard a cough and saw his father motion him to come over.

Naruto dashed inside his apartment and almost stepped on the white envelope on the floor. He gaped at the pretty writing and practically tore it open.

Sakura skimmed the letters on the letter and could not stop a gasp that escaped her. Her mother looked at her with half happy, half miserable expression on her face.

The trio read their letters with disbelief clearly written on their faces.

_HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY_

_Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore  
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,  
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. Of Wizards)_

_Dear Mr/Ms Uzumaki/Uchiha/Haruno,  
We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment required for the fourth grader.  
Term begins on 1 September. Hogwarts Express leaves at 11 a.m. on the last day of August from London, platform nine and three-quarters. We await your owl by no later that 31 July._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonnagall  
Deputy Headmistress_

Three pair of eyes looked at the letter incredulously. Owls? Witchcraft and wizardry? Platform nine and three-quarters?

Their lives were indeed going to change.

* * *

Hundreds miles away, the boy called Harry Potter woke with a start, having just experienced a deathly nightmare. He lay flat on his back, having trouble controlling his breathing. His scar was burning, but the mere physical pain he was experiencing was nothing compared to how his heart was beating at the thought of a man he saw in his dream.

What scared him the most was the fact that the same nightmare seemed to repeat itself over and over again. At first it was hard for him to even remember it, but now he could clearly recall the darkened room, the figures and the men talking about some kind of mission they wanted to accomplish. He was sure that one of them was his worst enemy, Lord Voldemort. His voice was clear in his mind and he wouldn't be able to forget it even if he wanted to. Wormtail was there, too, he could clearly remember the small man who was once a loyal pet of Ron for years. Who the other cloaked man was still seemed to be a mystery for him, though.

And then, that old man-

-he was dead in a blink of an eye. Some force had knocked him down. An unknown force, surely not a spell, it could not have been a spell.

The throbbing pain in his scar stopped him from pondering over the issue any further. Lately, he knew that these pain has intensified, but didn't inform anyone of it. He didn't want to worry his friends, especially Hermione. He could already imagine the look of worry on her face and her loud insisting that he should tell someone about it. But he did not want to tell anyone, well, except Dumbledore. He planned on asking him straight away after arriving at Hogwarts.

A loud snap of his doors caused him to jump up and his heart skipped a beat when he saw a fuming face of his uncle, "You," he bit out, slamming the door behind him. "Look at this. Now."

That made Harry officially scared, since his uncle never went inside his 'room'. It had to be a big emergency or something very bad. And since Mr. Dursley was in his room, he felt terrified. All his fright flied away, though, when his uncle shoved a letter, along with the envelope completely covered in stamps, into his hands. Harry quickly read the letter and couldn't help a large grin that made its way onto his face.

Uncle Vernon was muttering something about laughing postman and having to deal with embarrassment, but Harry could care less. The Weasleys has just invited him to stay over for the remainder of the summer holidays, as well as go to the finals of Quidditch World Cup with them. He could hardly conceal a shout of happiness.

"So, can I go?" he asked hopefully, though he already knew that if they didn't let him, he would run away anyway.

"Who is this woman?" asked uncle Vernon, referring to Mrs Weasley, who wrote the letter. He was still grumpy about the whole stamp issue.

"She's my friend's mother," explained Harry. "A friend's from school. The one with red-haired kids."

His uncle met the Weasley's family briefly once on the train station and Harry was sure that the shock from the meeting still did not fade away. His uncle did not tolerate anything out of ordinary and Weasleys could be definitely marked under that name. Mr. Dursley seemed to contemplate his options for a while, but the desire to get rid of the hated boy seemed to be enough of a reason to agree.

"Will you give me their address?" he asked, motioning to the last sentence in the letter in which Molly Weasley asked for a quick reply.

"Oh, I will write back to them in a normal way," said Harry, hardly being able to conceal the overjoyed tone of his voice. "Normal for us, I mean. They will know you agree."

Mr. Dursley probably didn't want to know what the 'normal way' means, so, without a further ado, he left the room as quickly as possible.

Harry beamed. Suddenly the whole idea of summer seemed better than before.

* * *

Sakura Haruno was well-known to be the smartest one in her team, so when she read the letter that her mother had handed her, she laughed at mother and her antics almost instantly.

"That was a good one, mom," the pink-haired girl grinned. "You almost had me. But where did you get the idea? Witchcraft? Wizardry? You're really creative."

Haruno Kagura smiled at her daughter wistfully and shook her head. She knew that the girl would not believe her at first, after all it seemed incredible and she was well aware of the fact how strange it ]must sound to her daughter. However sad the moment was to her, the woman knew that this day could come sometime. Her grandfather had been a wizard, he worked in the Ministry, so as much as she wanted to put that thought aside, her daughter was going to become a witch, no matter how she felt about it.

"Sakura, this is not a joke. Please, sit down and listen to me," explained Kagura patiently. "I know it is difficult but let me straighten it out for you."

She watched Sakura as she hesitantly took a seat. Just watching her daughter made her a little miserable. The ninja children with magical abilities were taken away from their parents for four years and nearly half of them did not return, because they found their place in the wizarding world. It was difficult to let go at that point, but she knew she had to do it. The decision was already made, by the Hokage and the Headmaster and it was not her role to argue.

"Sakura," the woman started. "You need to understand that there are other worlds, not only ours. Actually, there are three. The first one is where the ninjas live, where we live. We are well aware that there are also normal people living among us, I mean, the ones that posses no abilities at all. But only few know about the existance of a world where magic is a normal thing, where witches and wizards live."

Sakura listened, her eyes open widely from the shock. She knew her mother very well and she could judge when she was serious or joking. Right now she was dead serious and it almost scared her.

"The funny thing is that normal people are completely unaware of what is around them," continued the older woman. "They don't know a thing about us nor the wizards."

"I suppose that the inhabitants of the wizarding world are aware of everything?" guessed Sakura and got a nod from her mother.

"Yes, they are," she admitted. "There is one thing you must understand, Sakura. It is extremely rare for a person to be gifted with both chakra and magic."

"What you mean is that I should be grateful, right?" asked Sakura happily.

"Yes, you should," said Mrs. Haruno. "Ninjas are powerful. Wizards are powerful. Imagine what happens when you mend two. You become _extremely_ powerful. "

Sakura looked down at her hands and took a deep breath. Could it be? Can these hands really posses magical power that she was unaware of? She was not sure of anything at the moment, besides one thing – she was gifted and she was going to make use of it.

"Tell me," spoke Sakura finally after a long pause. "Tell me everything you know about magic."

* * *

After getting over the initial shock he unconsciously experienced (which was a very rare thing for him to do, he was a very composed person after all), Sasuke Uchiha looked at his parents from across the table expectantly. His dark eyes silently waited for an explanation – he was not stupid, he noticed that his parents were not surprised by the letter and he wanted to know why. Mikoto was the first one to speak.

"You see, Sasuke, there were some things that me and your father had to hide from you, at least until now," the woman looked at her husband pleadingly, waiting for some kind of help from him. "It's always been like that. Young ninjas, who are gifted, are supposed to learn about their abilities at the age of fourteen and attend Hogwarts starting at the fourth year. It's the deal that has been made between the Hokage and a man named Dumbledore a long time ago."

"The Hokage insisted that the ninja finish their academy and spend some time as a genin first," added Fugaku. "The amount of magic in your body increases anyway due to the chakra training you do. The only thing you have to do is to learn the most important things about the magic world, spells, potions etc."

"I'm sure that Tsunade will explain everything to you on the meeting you have this evening," chirped Mikoto happily.

Sasuke looked at his mother sceptically, wondering if that wasn't one of the jokes she liked to play on him. His father, though, didn't seem like a type to joke around. Still not convinced by their words, the boy decided that what he needed was a strong proof.

"Prove it," he said simply. "Prove it to me that the stuff you say is true."

Mikoto looked at her husband, who nodded at her and reached underneath his shirt. Sasuke briefly wondered what he was doing, but before he had the time to think about it any further, his father took out a long, funny-looking black stick out and pointed it at the nearby vase.

"_Engorgio." _he said calmly and made a strange movement with his hand that made Sasuke lift his brows in wonder.

Suddenly, the vase started to grow. It enlarged and enlarged until it was almost the boy's size and, as quickly as it grew, it shrunk back to its original size when Fugaku made a motion with the 'stick' in his wrist.

"Uh," mumbled Sasuke, clearly shocked at what he has just seen. "Now I believe you."

"This-" Fugaku motioned to the object in his hand. "-is a wand. It is used by us, wizards and witches, to cast magic spells. But I won't be explaining that to you, I'm sure that someone else will do it for me."

Sasuke nodded his head. Suddenly, a question popped into his mind. He has been meaning to ask that question for a while now, everything seemed to clear out in his head when he read the letter in his hand and listened to his parents' explanation.

"Is that where Itachi goes during the year?" Sasuke asked his parents. "He is not training in other villages, am I right? He actually attends that school."

"Yes, he will be starting his sixth year now," nodded Mikoto. "Actually, our whole clan has magical abilities. We are what they call in wizarding world a pure blood family."

Sasuke nodded. Everything was clear to him now – he always wondered why his brother came back only for holidays and Christmas and also why he seemed to appear out of nowhere. He must have been using magic to travel.

Somehow, Sasuke understood that he finally will start doing what he should be for a long time.

* * *

The one thing that angered Naruto Uzumaki the most was when someone interrupted his everyday routine of eating seven bowls of ramen for lunch. Even his biggest rival and teammate the black-haired Uchiha could not piss him that much with his constant brooding attitude. That's why when someone knocked, or rather banged on his door when he was in the middle of devouring his fifth bowl, he instantly became pissed. His mood was bad anyway since he has just read the letter that some joker decided to leave on his doorstep – he didn't like this kind of jokes, not at all.

Naruto stomped to his door angrily and practically tore it open with a loud snap. His close friend Kiba Inuzuka stood behind them, looking at him sheepishly, "Dude," he grumbled. "No need to be so angry. I just came to deliver a massage for you."

He motioned for the boy to come out, but the blonde stared at him with a raised brow and crossed his arms angrily.

"You better have a damn good reason for interrupting my lunch," he snapped at the boy. Kiba didn't seem to be scared as he invited himself in and took a look around at the mess in his friend's apartment.

"Shizune told me to drag your ass to the meeting with Tsunade-hey! Did you get that letter too?" he asked excitedly.

"What letter?" asked Naruto distantly, having gone back to his precious ramen. "Oh! You mean that load of crap? Yeah, I got it,"

"Yeah I thought it was strange at first too," said Kiba, sitting down across from Naruto. "But it turns out that it's all true and we're really going to that school. My father explained it all to me and he even did that strange thing with a stick-"

The boy made a strange movement with his wrist to visualize his thought.

"-and then my bed flew over to him! Just like that! It was incredible!" he finished.

"Yeah, yeah, right," muttered Naruto with his mouth full of food and looked at his friend strangely.

"Don't look at me like that," growled Kiba and started dragging his friend out the door. "I'm telling the truth! By the way, we need to go, cause we're already late!"

"Hey, I haven't finished yet!" cried Naruto, but the door already closed behind him with a slam.

* * *

Albus Dumbledore arrived at the small street in the south of London and looked around himself quickly. The street seemed to be isolated and everything from the creaking, old-fashioned doors to the holes in the wall of a nearby building must have been left unused for years. The man didn't seem to mind his strange surroundings, though. He was busy looking around for something _or_ someone. Seconds later he finally noticed an unmoving figure sitting on the nearby wall. It would be unusual for a normal person to nod at a cat, but Dumbledore seemed to have no problem with it at all.

"Minerva, would you mind changing to your original form?" he asked gently. "I'd rather not have a one-sided conversation."

When he turned to look at the cat again, instead he saw a woman with square glasses and black hair drawn into a tight bun. She wore a long, emerald cloak. The woman smiled.

"Albus," she said affectionately. "I am sorry for sending an owl so suddenly, but I heard some news and wanted to make sure they are true."

"I suppose that it concerns my last visit in the ninja village?" asked Dumbledore softly.

"Yes. I just wanted to know," McGonagall inhaled sharply. "if it's true that this year _twelve_ ninja will be arriving in Hogwarts?"

"Yes," admitted Dumbledore, his voice not faltering a bit. "They all have impressive magical abilities."

"And strangely they are all the same age as Harry Potter," spoke McGonagall sharply. "Are you hiding something, Dumbledore? Are these kids somehow connected to the prophecy?"

The old man looked at his female companion and for the first time his eyes seemed to be clouded with doubt, "I don't know, Minerva. I don't know."

"Well," said the woman, trying to sound optimistic. "At least we'll have a bunch of new fourth-graders at school."

"I heard they're an interesting group of kids," chuckled Dumbledore. "Tsunade wouldn't say that, but I could read it in her eyes that they might cause us some problems."

"Great," muttered McGonagall. "That's exactly what I needed. I hope they won't all be sorted out to Griffindor. I'll have to try to bribe that old hat."

Dumbledore and McGonagall let out a throaty laugh before nodding their heads at each other. A moment later the couple exchanged goodbyes and disappeared into the night.

* * *

When Naruto and Kiba dashed inside the office, the other ten chuunins/genins were already waiting inside and weren't quite happy that they had to wait for the lazy duo to arrive. Sasuke approached his blonde teammate and smacked his head, "Dobe, we've been all waiting for you,"

"Don't hit me you bastard!" screamed Naruto. "Kiba dragged me here and kept telling me some crap about magic and-nevermind."

"I told you that it's all true!" protested the boy loudly. "I'm not joking!"

Tsunade sighed and lifted her hand lazily, "Quiet!"

The stern voice of the Hokage finally made all the teenagers in the office fall silent. They watched as Tsunade rubbed her temples and muttered curses under her breath, "I have some important matters to discuss with you,"

Tsunade glanced around the room. It seemed that everyone were present (Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Neji, Lee, Tenten, Shikamaru, Chouji, Ino, Kiba, Shino and Hinata) so she decided it was a good time to start explaining the young ninjas what really was happening.

"I hope you have all received your letters," she started and after receiving nods (a hesitant one from Naruto) she continued. "Good. I think your parents explained the most important matters to you and if not – yes I mean you, Naruto – I'm sure that your friends would be more than happy to explain."

"Is that a good idea for us to go to this school?" spoke Neji from his seat in the corner. "We know practically nothing about this world."

Some grunts of approval could be heard but Tsunade hushed them all with a cough, "That's not a problem. You will spend more than a month in the magical society to understand it better and learn all the things that a fourth grader needs to know."

"Where will we stay?" asked Sakura, glancing at a fuming Naruto secretly. "And you can't possibly expect us to learn everything by ourselves, can you?"

"Of course not," snorted Tsunade. "You'll be staying at a place called the Leaky Cauldron with Kakashi. He'll spend this time with you and help you to adapt. Then he'll escort you to your train."

"Kakashi?" spoke Sasuke. "Are you telling us that Kakashi is a wizard?"

"Yes, he finished Hogwarts, as well as Asuma, Kurenai, Gai and Anko," nodded the Hokage, smiling at the shocked looks on the kids' faces. "He'll teach you the necessary things. Don't be worried, he is a great wizard."

Tsunade went over to her desk where a normal looking kunai lay and motioned the others to come closer. The ninjas gathered around the woman and looked at the weapon quizzically.

"When are we leaving?" asked Ino. "I need to take care of some things and-"

"Come here," interrupted her Tsunade. "And touch the kunai. All of you."

"What?" grumbled Naruto. "What for?"

"Just do it." said Tsunade. So they did.

It happened immediately – they couldn't quite decipher what but some invisible force jerked them upwards and into some kind of wind and mix of colors. What seemed to be hours of bumping their shoulders and speeding forwards was in fact a couple seconds and it all abruptly ended – with a loud thud and lots of curses coming from their lips.

Their feet slammed into the ground and almost all of them fell down; Sasuke barely noticed Sakura staggering and falling next to him, while Naruto almost got stabbed with a kunai that embedded itself in the tree behind him.

Neji was the first one to get up and look around himself. A second later he came face to face with a strange, cloaked like figure that was surprisingly similar to Kakashi.

"Yo," it said.

* * *

**Some important notes: **As you can see, the massacre did **not** happen in that story. I wanted it that way because it will more suitable later for the plot. Sakura's father is dead and Naruto is an orphan. The family statuses of other characters will be revealed later.

**Next chapter: **The teenagers go shopping on Diagon Alley and Kakashi teaches them basic magic stuff.


	2. the portkey, the alley and the visit

**A/N:** I really got obsessed with this story. That chapter was difficult for me to write, since the action is only starting and I need to introduce all the characters and plot first before really getting to the 'point'. I hope it's not boring, but it turned out very long! At least two times longer than I planned...

I always check my spelling thoroughly before posting the story, but I'm pretty sure that there is a lot of grammar mistakes in here. I'm Polish and I'm only learning English so I might not notice the mistakes even though I check it at least two times. If anyone is interested in checking this story, please let me know.

Also, I changed the title. I thought that 'wizarding' sounds better than 'magical'. It is a _wizarding _world after all, so maybe wizarding ninja sounds... better.

**Pairings: **These are the pairings I am sure about: SasuSaku, ShikaIno, NaruHina, NejiTen, Harry/Ginny, Draco/OC (I absolutely love Dramione, but I have other plans concerning this fic). They will appear eventually, but it will take some time. I also have a question concerning Ron and Hermione. Since I like a lot of Ron and Hermione pairings, I want to let you decide. Would you like me to do Ron/Hermione? If not then who should I pair them with?

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter and Naruto.

* * *

**THE WIZARDING NINJAS  
and the Triwizard Tournament**

**Chapter 2: **_the portkey, the alley and the visit

* * *

_

The ninjas disentangled themselves from each other and managed to get up with disoriented looks on their faces. A minute ago they were all safely standing in Tsunade's office, while now they were in a place that was totally foreign to them. The kunai that the Hokage had instructed them to get hold of must have transported them to some unknown place. It seemed to be a part of a deserted forest and what's worse – it looked as the rain would pour down in any second.

Ino silently cursed her bad luck – she was supposed to meet up with her aunt for some extra training that day and, well, now it seemed that she wasn't going anywhere soon. The forest looked deserted and even her ninja's instincts kicked in – she was in an unknown place with a bunch of other 14-year olds who were just as much disoriented as she was. The girl was currently thinking of one hundred ways to kill the old hag for playing that trick on them when she heard a noise behind her.

"Yo," the group heard a voice say. "Had a nice flight?"

The twelve all looked at the source of the voice simultaneously and stared. The girls gasped, while the boys just stared at the 'monster' in front of them levelly. There stood Kakashi Hatake, dressed in a strange cloak-like robe in a shade of a tomato. He smiled at the teens and motioned them to come over, "Come, come. We've got to hurry,"

Naruto burst into a set of near hysterical giggles, clutching at his sides as if they were ripping apart, "What is that shit you're wearing, sensei?"

"I would not call that shit if I were you. I believe you shall be wearing a similar one soon," exclaimed Kakashi without a hint of anger in his voice at his student's outburst. "That's the normal stuff to wear in the wizarding world. I thought I might as well look presentable when we get to the Leaky Cauldron."

"Noo way!" gasped Ino looking at, at least in her opinion, pitiful piece of cloth that Kakashi wore. "I am not going to put on that-that thing!"

"It d-doesn't l-look s-so bad, Ino-chan," stuttered Hinata, playing with her fingers nervously. "Y-you l-look good, Kakashi-san."

"Thank you, Hinata," said Kakashi politely before pulling out a wand from the depths of his robe. "Alright, I need to use a spell on you right now, so you'll be able to use English language. It is spoken in the place we're heading to. You won't feel anything so don't worry."

Kakashi flicked his wand at each student respectively, muttering things under his breath. Neji, who was the last one that the man cast the spell on, looked at his hands doubtfully, "I don't feel any different,"

"You may not, but when someone addresses you in English, you will answer automatically in that language," explained Kakashi. "Now if you all please could-"

"Kakashi-sensei!" gasped Sakura loudly, causing all the others look at her. She was so put off by the strange transporting earlier that she failed to notice (as well as the others) the lack of a particular cloth on ther sensei's face. "You don't have your mask!"

There was a wave of 'ohhs' and 'aahs' when girls admired the older man and boys looked at him curiously. Kakashi scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "Oh, well, that's just a habit of mine. I don't wear my mask when I have one of my wizard robes on,"

"And I tried so many times to make you take off that damn mask!" wailed Naruto in despair. "And it turns out that all I had to do is wait for you to wear your other outfit!"

"I don't know what's the whole fuss about," drawled Shikamaru lazily. "It's just a face."

Kakashi smiled mysteriously, "Alright, kids, gather around, cause we have to use another portkey-"

"Another what?" Tenten voiced the unspoken question of the whole group.

"A portkey is a magical thing we use to travel long distances, well, at least those who can't apparate use them. That kunai you had all touched before was a portkey. And this is also a portkey," Kakashi pointed to the small box in his left hand.

"Noo way! I'm not touching that thing again," screamed Chouji, clutching his hands over his stomach. "I thought I was going to throw up."

Ino wrinkled her nose in disgust at her teammate before turning to Kakashi, "But why couldn't we go directly to the place we want to get to?"

"Eh, you see, Gai gave Tsunade the wrong one and I didn't have time to give her this one," Kakashi sweatdropped and pointed to the thing in his hand again. "so I thought I'll just wait for you here and we'll go there together."

"Ugh, that is something you could expect from Gai," Tenten whimpered and clamped a hand over Lee's mouth before he could object. Everyone knew of his undying devotion to the crazy man. "I bet he's a lousy wizard just as he is a ninja."

"Actually he knows practically everything about muggles," admitted Kakashi and motioned the ninjas to come closer before they could ask what these 'muggles' were. He didn't feel like getting into the details right now, they will have enough time for that in the upcoming days, "We need to hurry up. Put your hands on this. And Chouji, try not to throw up."

The boy opened his mouth to retort but before he could do so the group felt a familiar tug in their stomach as the sharp wind pulled them forwards once again. Ino could faintly hear sick sounds coming from her teammate next to her as the force pushed her sharply onto the ground and she landed with a loud thud. Only Kakashi, Sasuke, Neji and Sakura (who used Sasuke's arm to hold herself up) were standing securely on their feet in what seemed to be a tiny, dark pub.

The first thing Sakura noticed was the fact that all of the people inside were wearing the same robes as Kakashi had on – a woman in the corner even got a strange, pointy hat on her head, much to the girl's amusement. When Sakura tore her eyes away from the hat, everyone were already back on their feet and a kind-hearted Hinata was fussing over Chouji, who didn't take Kakashi's advice to not vomit after all. Out of the corner of her eyes Sakura noticed a man making their way to them.

"My, my, poor boy. I don't take these portkey-travels too well myself," he mused. Kakashi took out his wand and with a flick of his wrist Chouji looked as if nothing happened to him just a minute ago. "I prefer to use the Floo powder, thank you very much."

"I'd stick to the good old apparition, Tom," Kakashi shook the barman's hand. "How's the business going nowadays?"

"Oh, you know, as good as usual," answered the man with a halfhearted laugh. "Though I have to tell you that these rumors about You-Know-Who are affecting the business a bit, especially the tourism."

"Nothing to worry about," exclaimed Kakashi, his eyes sparkling in the dim light of the room. "Rumors are just rumors."

For a while a cheery look on the old barman's face seemed to be clouded with a miserable expression, but it was gone as quick as it came, "Yeah, you're probably right. Anyway, only the Muggle-borns don't travel as much as they used to. It's funny though – they shouldn't be worried, at least _yet_," the man fell uncomfortably silent after his last words.

Sasuke glanced curiously at the two man – there was definitely something going on and he was determined to find out what. He threw a look at Sakura, who seemed to read his mind and nodded feebly. He could read it in her eyes that she already had some suspicions. They will talk about it later, he decided.

"So," spoke Kakashi, breaking the uneasy silence between the two. "I guess we need four rooms for these young people here and a one for myself."

"Oh! New students," Tom finally seemed to notice Kakashi's companions, who were busy looking around the place curiously, focusing especially on the people clad in strange clothing. "Wow, there's plenty of them this year. Actually I think there has never been a year with so many new ninja students before."

Kakashi nodded thoughtfully, "Yes. I believe two years ago we were shocked that there were more than three and now we've got twelve,"

"Well, times change," mused the barman, leading them through the corridors, showing the appropriate rooms and handing out keys to his guests. "I guess it has something to do with that."

Kakashi nodded to the man and watched him disappear behind the corner, before turning to the group of future wizards and witches, "Alright, I bet you're all tired because it's pretty late now, so I think we should all head to our rooms now. We'll be meeting downstairs tomorrow at eight in the morning. We're going shopping so don't oversleep."

* * *

The next morning, Team Seven (along with the other teams and Kakashi) sat at the long table, devouring their breakfast hungrily. Actually, Sasuke and Sakura were eating, while Naruto was in the middle of complaining about the lack of ramen in the pub. The old barman Tom just shrugged his shoulders helplessly, repeating over and over again that he haven't heard of such food before.

Sakura smacked her blonde teammate on his head and forced a spoon full of scrambled eggs into his mouth, "Shut up and eat,"

Not really wanting to anger the short-tempered girl any further (he already did by forcing her to drag him out of his bed in the morning), Naruto ate his breakfast obediently, "Okay, Sakura-chan, sorry,"

"It's all so strange," spoke Tenten, who sat next to Lee on the other end of the table. "All these people here wear this strange clothes and read funny newspapers with moving photos!"

"Yesterday evening we went out to do some sightseeing," added Kiba, referring to his team. "We noticed something strange – it looked like all the people went past the Leaky Cauldron without noticing it."

Kakashi wiped his mouth with a napkin. He was wearing the same robe as the day before, "That's because it's hidden with a spell. Muggles can't see it,"

"You said that word before," inquired Chouji. "Who are these _muggles_?"

Kakashi opened his mouth to speak, but his student beat him to it, "Muggles are non-magical and non-ninja people. The are completely unaware of the wizarding world, as well as our hidden villages. The phrase is popular among the wizards and witches," Sakura explained.

"Very good, Sakura," complimented Kakashi. "Have you been learning about magic?"

"My mother let me borrow some books concerning the wizarding world," the girl answered. "I managed to read a few of them, such as _The Chronology in the Wizarding World_, _Hogwarts: the Guide _and _Famous Witches and Wizards in the History._"

"So, your mother is a witch?" asked Tenten curiously, who sat opposite her. "My parents are both normal ninja. I got my abilities from my uncle. He works as an 'auror' or something like that."

"No my parents were both, uh, _muggles_," said Sakura. "They were not even ninjas. But my great grandfather was a wizard. I don't know where I got my chakra from, though."

Kakashi patted his student's head affectionately, "Chakra doesn't have to be passed from an ancestor,"

"And what about magic?" inquired Shikamaru.

"No," Kakashi shook his head. "There are many Muggle-borns. They are sometimes more talented and powerful than the Pure-bloods."

"So it doesn't really matter, right?" asked Naruto, glancing at Sasuke from the corner of his eye. Sasuke was from a pure-blood family, while he was only a Half-blood, at least from what he had heard from Kakashi the day before. And he didn't want to lose to his rival in any way, "It doesn't matter what family are we from, does it?"

"No, it doesn't matter," confirmed Kakashi. "But you must know that there is a strong sense of rivalry between the Pure-bloods and the rest of the wizarding community, especially the Muggle-borns. I'd even call it a one-sided hate. But I really hope you won't be following that thinking. It is foolish in my opinion."

"I t-think s-so t-oo," stuttered Hinata, fiddling with her fingers. "I d-don't think t-that any of you g-guys are wo-rse than me just b-because I'm from a p-pure-blood f-family."

Neji nodded and even Sasuke gave a small grunt of agreement, "Hn,"

Kakashi grinned at his students and clapped his hands, "All right, kids. Time to visit the Diagon Alley and do some shopping."

Kakashi waved to the old barman, thanked him for the delicious breakfast and led the group through the pub and out into a small courtyard. There was nothing but a small dustbin and a wall there. The ninjas looked at the jounin questioningly. He didn't seem to pay attention to them all, instead he counted bricks in the wall above the dustbin, took out his wand and tapped the wall three times with his wand.

The girls gasped as they saw the bricks move; and suddenly a hole appeared in the middle. Small at first, it grew wider and wider until it was big enough to fit them all in. A street appeared on the other side – it was extremely long and, due to many shiny signs on the shops, very colorful. The kids and their sensei steeped through the archway, the hole instantly shrunk after them back into a wall.

"Welcome to the Diagon Alley," grinned Kakashi at their shocked faces. "Well I guess we should visit Gringotts first, if you kids want to buy anything at all."

"Gringotts?" asked Ino as he led them along the street, between the shops with various magical merchandise – everything from clothes and books to owls and brooms. Naruto grinned excitedly when they passed a particular store that looked like an ice cream parlour. "What exactly is _Gringotts_?"

"Gringotts is a bank where wizards and witches store their money," explained Kakashi when they reached a white building that was a bit bigger than other ones beside it. "It's really safe, since the goblins guard it."

Soon enough they passed a small creature that wore what looked like a very expensive uniform; it had beard, long fingers and feet and a pointed nose. Shikamaru pointed out that it looked quite clever and the others nodded, before they all looked at the doors with words engraved on them:

_Enter, stranger, but take heed  
Of what awaits the sin of greed,  
For those who take, but do not earn,  
Must pay most dearly in their turn,  
So if you seek beneath our floors  
A treasure that was never yours,  
Thief, you have been warned, beware  
Of finding more than treasure there._

"Now that is scary," muttered Kiba and shuddered slightly.

Kakashi pointed at hundreds of goblins that were inside the building when they made it to the counter, "Only a mad man would try to rob that bank."

One of the goblins on the other side of the counter approached them, "May I help you, sir?"

"I have a few requests," started Kakashi. "We need to visit several places so these kids could take some money out of their vaults."

"Do they have their keys, sir?" asked the goblin.

"I have them," spoke Kakashi, fishing a small bag from his robe and handing it to the goblin. Then he took out a small golden key and also gave it. "And I'd also like to visit this one too, please."

"Very well," said the goblin after inspecting all the keys carefully. "My assistant will take you down to your vaults."

The assistant turned out to be another goblin, who took the keys and led them out of the hall into a narrow passageway lit with flaming torches. The goblin whistled and three carts arrived. They all climbed in with come difficulty before they took off. The ride was not an enjoyable one – at least for some of them, Shikamaru noted when he saw a green face of his teammate – but fortunately it didn't last too long as the cart came to an abrupt halt beside a small door in the wall.

The goblin was the first one to get off. He unlocked the door and motioned with his hand to come inside, "Vault eight hundred eighty eight. Hyuuga's family property,"

Neji and Hinata got out hesitantly and went through the small door inside. The others stretched their necks desperately to see what's inside. Tons of golden, silver and bronze coins lay scattered around the vault, shining in the dim light of the crypt. The two young Hyuugas filled their bags with as much gold as they could carry and, as they went out, Kakashi walked up to them and gestured the others to look, "The gold ones are Galleones. Seventeen silver coins – Sicles – to a Galleon and twenty-nine bronze ones – Knuts – to the Sicle. Try to remember that,"

They all got back into their cats and resumed they wild ride. They visited Uchiha's crypt – which consisted of an even larger amount of money than Hyuuga's; then they went inside Ino, Kiba, Shino, Chouji, Shikamaru and Lee's vaults, which held large piles of gold too, but not as big as Hyuuga's or Uchiha's. Next one was Tenten's, where the gold didn't seem to be in a such big number, but still the girl managed to fill her pockets with shiny coins. Lastly, the cart stopped by vault four hundred eighty eight and Sakura disappeared inside it. Three mounds of gold, silver and bronze coins were inside – a really small amount compared to her friends' fortunes. The girl didn't seem to mind as she gathered some Galleons and Sicles and left the vault with a smile.

"I'm sure it will be more than enough to purchase all of the necessary items," she chirped happily when Kakashi sent her a wistful look. The teacher patted his favorite student's head and smiled.

"All right," he said at last. "We should visit the vault nine hundred eighty now."

When they stopped by it, Kakashi nudged Naruto's side gently and gestured him to go inside, "It's Jirayia's. He said you can use the money as much as you want, just don't spend all of it. Sakura, you can take some too," he added in an afterthought.

"Thank you Kakashi-sensei, but I'll manage," the girl said when her teammate disappeared behind the doors.

"Just go," Kakashi's eyes crinkled. "It's an order."

Naruto and Sakura walked inside the vault and filled their bags with money, when suddenly the blonde noticed a small package in the corner. He looked at it briefly and put it in his bag, planning to check it after they get back to the Leaky Cauldron. After they both climbed in the cart, their bags considerably heavier, the goblin escorted them back to the main hall of the bank. A while later, the group was standing in the sunlight again.

"Do you have your lists with you?" asked Kakashi.

After some shuffling, cursing, searching and nodding, Kakashi pointed behind them, "You should go in that direction to visit Madame Malkin's and Ollivanders first,"

"You mean you won't be going with us?" asked Ino hesitantly. "Are you sure we won't get lost? That street is so long and there's so many shops."

Kakashi smirked and stared at the ninjas, amused, "Consider it a mission. The first team to purchase all the necessary objects from the list will get a prize,"

He nodded at the dumbfounded group and disappeared. Naruto crossed his arms angrily, "Right, he just wanted to read his perverted book again."

* * *

Meanwhile, at 4 Privet Drive, Harry Potter was anxiously waiting for 'someone to pick him up' – as Mrs Weasley stated in the reply to his last letter. He suspected it to be Mr or Mrs Wesley, since he didn't really think that either of them would trust their children to bring _the _Harry Potter to the Burrow. Fred and George were probably the biggest pranksters in the whole wizarding world, Percy was busy with his new work in the Ministry (and, as Ron added in his recent letter, even more annoying than before), Bill and Charlie were Merlin knows where and Ron – well, Ron was just _Ron_.

The atmosphere inside the house was really tense, since the Dursleys didn't really like the idea of any _strange_ people coming inside their cozy home. And in their minds anything that was even closely related to Harry Potter just _had_ to be strange. Dudley was the most nervous out of the three – he still remembered the incident with the huge monster that made a piggy tail grow out of his backside.

Harry suppressed a snort at his cousin's behavior and excused himself from the living room to drag his trunk downstairs. He was already next to the front door when he heard aunt Petunia's loud scream followed by a thud and another scream. Quickly abandoning his trunk, he dashed into the room just in time to see his uncle throw various things into the fireplace. A head that was dancing between the flames was desperately trying to calm the man down, "Please, I came to collect Mr Potter. I assure to take good care of him during the journey, I am from the Ministry of Magic and-"

As the word 'magic' was mentioned, Mr Dursley's rage intensified even more, "Get out of _my_ fireplace!" he screamed. No one got along with Harry's uncle when he threw one of his temper tantrums.

Harry saw the look of helplessness on the man's face (which was hilarious, by the way – he looked Japanese and had a very strange haircut) and decided it was the right time to help him, "Uncle, let him get out, he came to collect me, I promise we'll be gone quickly,"

Vernon threw Petunia a wary look and then, reluctantly at first, went away from the fireplace. The man let out a sigh of relief and hopped out, earning gasps from Petunia and Dudley, who were both hiding in the darkest corner of the room. The man dusted off his pants and sneezed loudly, "Ugh, damn dust. Too bad you can't Apparate yet, Harry," he said holding out his right hand to the boy, who shook it.

"Are you Weasleys' friend?" asked Harry curiously, reaching out for his trunk. The man was quicker, though, dragging it close to the fireplace and fishing through his pockets, apparently searching for something. He was so engrossed in the activity that he didn't really hear Harry's question.

"Where is that powder?" muttered the man to himself. Then, as if remembering something, he ran up to Harry and held both of his hands in his, "Where are my manners? I did not introduce myself! My name is Gai and I work with Arthur in the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office! Well, it's a part-time job, but still, _youthful_!"

Harry fought the urge to snort at the man – he looked like a really crazy person. And sounded crazy, too. The funniest thing was that even for a wizard, the man looked extremely comical. His robe was in an extremely flashy green color and, as he noticed when the man was looking everywhere for the lost powder, he had a ridiculous tight costume underneath. The Dursleys seemed to think the same way, because aunt Petunia cleared her throat loudly, "Uh, I don't mean to be rude, but would you mind leaving already?"

Gai didn't seem to mind such an ill-mannered implication at all, instead he pulled out a small box triumphantly, "Aha! I've got it. You go first, Harry. I'll take your trunk. No worries, we're leaving already," he addressed to the frightened trio, opened the box and handed it to Harry.

Now came the part the boy didn't really like. The boy took some powder into his hand, then threw it into the flames, "The Burrow." he exclaimed before disappearing in the flames.

* * *

Shikamaru, Chouji and Ino forced themselves through a particularly large group of women who stood outside a pink store that read _The hotness, the passion – the Love Potions_ before making their way towards _Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions_. Ino examined the robes on the display with a visible frown on her face. She didn't like the sense of fashion in that world at all; she especially loathed the robes that resembled the ones that the Elders back in Konoha wore.

Meanwhile, Shikamaru skimmed through the list he held in his hand, "_Three sets of plain work robes (black), one plain pointed hat (black) for day wear, one pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar), one winter cloak (black, silver fastenings), one dress robe..._ I guess we'll find that stuff here," he concluded.

"And the bookstore is right next to it. We can go there afterwards," Chouji noted, pointing to the large sign – F_lourish & Blotts_ – nearby.

"But that stuff is awful," mumbled Ino, after examining the display thoroughly. "I don't want to wear it."

Shikamaru sighed, "Let's just get inside,"

The trio made their way inside the cozy-looking shop cautiously and, before they had time to even look around, a short woman in a very expensive robe approached them, "Hello, dear. What can I do for you?"

Shikamaru took out the list once again and opened his mouth to start reading, but Madame Malkin shushed him, "Hogwarts! Fourth-graders! Come, come, we'll start with the plain robes and then we can move on to the ball gowns! I have something in mind for that young beautiful lady over here," she said, gesturing to Ino.

As the blond girl disappeared behind the doors with Madam's Malkin assistant, Shikamaru stood uncomfortably with his arms up as the woman measured him. Chouji, who was next to him, amused himself by munching on a strange waffle-like thing he had bought before. His teammates had to spend at least fifteen minutes before they managed to drag him out of the store.

Shikamaru glanced to his right to see a boy around his age looking at him curiously, "Uh, sorry for staring, it's just that your and your friend's clothes are quite... interesting," the boy commented with a kind smile. "You're both from Hogwarts, too? I don't think I've seen you before."

"Yes," confirmed the ninja. "As well as the blonde girl that went off to the back of the store. But we're starting this year, that's why you can't remember us."

"Oh I know now! You're the transfer students from the hidden village..." said the boy excitedly. "It's so cool to meet you. I'm always excited about 'your kind' (don't mean to sound rude) coming to Hogwarts – you have those cool abilities; too bad you can't use them outside of your private lessons – it's forbidden. Anyway, I'm Terry Boot and these are my friends – Michael Corner and Anthony Goldstein." he added quickly, nodding towards two tall boys behind him.

"Nice to meet you as well, I am Shikamaru Nara," answered the genius, shaking the boys' hands. Then he introduced his male teammate to them, "This is Chouji Akimichi. And the girl in the back is Ino Yamanaka. She can be quite troublesome, as well as the fattie over here."

Chouji didn't seem to catch the insult, and smiled between the bites of yet another candy he purchased, "Hi,"

Terry forced a smile at the boy when he noticed bits of chocolate falling out of his mouth, "Uh, hi," he mumbled.

"What were you saying about the ninja skills being prohibited?" asked Shikamaru, frowning slightly. He did not like that idea at all.

"Well," started Terry. "from what I've heard from my friends in the upper grade, you all have two sessions of training a week and it is the only time when you are allowed to use your ninja abilities."

"And why would they want that?" growled Chouji angrily. "We've been all training since we were little kids, we can't stop using our abilities like that."

"Well I believe it has something to do with it being unfair," explained Terry. "Since none of us has these abilities. And you can enhance some of your spells with chakra to make them stronger, so you have an upper hand anyway. So, do you guys know which house you want to be in?"

"House?" inquired Shikamaru curiously.

Michael, who just finished being measured, sat on the nearby chair, "Oh, you know, there are four houses in Hogwarts you can get assigned to – Gryffindor likes brave students, Ravenclaw – smart, Huffelpuff – hard-working and Slytherin – ambitious. Generally speaking, of course,"

"Shikamaru sounds like a Ravenclaw type," commented Chouji, having finally finished eating.

"That's cool, cause we're all in Ravenclaw, along with our friend in the back," said Terry with a proud smile. "We could stick together if you guys get sorted to our house."

"We could," nodded Shikamaru, already liking the three boys – they seemed quite intelligent and really kind. "And how exactly do we get assigned?"

"The Sorting Hat shouts out the name of the house you belong to," spoke Anthony for the first time.

"A hat?" asked Chouji incredulously. "You mean a piece of _material_ determines whether you're brave, smart, ambitious or hard-working? That's ridiculous."

Michael snorted, "The Sorting Hat is an ancient artifact. I wouldn't exactly call it ridiculous."

Chouji opened his mouth to retort, but was interrupted by a shout from behind of him, "That dress is _soooo_ beautiful! I love that store, it's incredible!"

Shikamaru sweatdropped. He could never understand girls – they changed their mind at least ten times a day, "That's nice, Ino," he mumbled, when she latched her hands around his neck. A pretty, black-haired Asian girl appeared behind his teammate and introduced herself as Cho Chang. She and Ino already seemed to like each other very much (he deducted that from constant giggles he could hear from them) and talked in hushed voices, throwing glances at the boys occasionally.

When the trio paid for their clothes, they made their way to the exit along with their newly found friends. They went outside the store and looked at the crowds of people rushing by. Anthony glanced at his friend, "Terry, we need to finish our shopping today, so we can have everything that's necessary before we leave for the Quidditch World Cup finals,"

Shikamaru, Ino and Chouji looked at each other in question, before shrugging their shoulders. They had no idea what that 'Quidditch' was. When Ino asked Cho about it, she chuckled, "Noo way, you don't know what Quidditch is?"

"Cho," mumbled Terry. "They have no clue about the whole wizarding world at all."

The Asian blushed slightly before explaining, "Quidditch is the most common sport in our community. For example, we play Quidditch at school – I play in the Ravenclaw team. The rules are quite difficult, though. It would take some time to explain."

"But we don't have time for that right now," spoke Anthony. "We need to buy our books right now."

Michael smiled in a very flirtatious way to Ino, "So do you guys want to visit _Flourish & Blotts_? Cause we were just planning to go there,"

Ino returned the smile with a wink, "Of course we want," she answered and followed the boy, latching her arm around his.

Terry sighed and looked at Shikamaru apologetically, "Sorry for that, Michael really... well, he really _likes_ girls,"

"And Ino likes boys," grinned Chouji, skimming through his list of books. "They clash." he added as a joke.

Anthony glanced at Shikamaru from the corner of the eye, "But you don't mind them flirting, right?"

"Not at all," answered the boy with a distant look on his face, "I kind of got used to it. Her constant flirting, I mean."

* * *

"Look! Here it is!" shouted Sakura enthusiastically, pointing at a store in front of them. Peeling gold letters over the door of the shop read _Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C._. A single wand lay on a purple cushion on the dusty display. The girl grinned, "Finally! We can get real wands here!"

"Are you sure, Sakura-chan?" asked Naruto uncertainly. "This shop looks pretty... abandoned?"

"Just come in, dobe," muttered Sasuke, pretty irritated by the blonde. He pointed at the man who was levitating the boxes onto the shelves. "Someone's inside."

The trio made their way inside the old-fashioned building. Naruto nearly jumped when he heard a bell ring when they entered the tiny room – thousands narrow boxes were piled right up to the ceiling of the tiny store. Naruto found it weird that the shop did not have any decorations or furniture at all, besides a single chair and a counter.

Sakura sneezed. Naruto turned to look at his pink haired companion, "You're not feeling well, Sakura-chan?"

"It's nothing, Naruto," answered the girl with a smile, flustered by his concern. She knew about his childish crush on her, but grew accustomed to it in the last few years. She remember how she used to be annoyed in the past, but stopped it when she realized she was acting the exact same way towards Sasuke. Fortunately, she came to her senses and didn't act like a lovesick puppy anymore. That did not mean she stopped to like him, though, "I just happen to have a slight allergy to dust. And there's lots of dust here."

"Good afternoon," said a soft voice. Team Seven turned around to see an old man with wide, pale eyes staring at them. His lips were twisted in a gentle smile, but the silvery eyes of the man seemed to be a little too creepy for the ninjas. Naruto fought the urge to shudder. The man looked really... scary.

"Good afternoon," nodded Sasuke at the weird-looking man and went straight to the point. "We wanted to buy wands."

"Ah yes," said the man. "You're transfer students from the ninja village. Yes, ah yes, I've heard there's a lot of you coming this year. Unusual, very unusual indeed."

"And why is it so unusual, huh?" asked Naruto a bit rudely. "Maybe it's because there's a lot of talented ninjas in our year?"

"Young man, that _is_the reason, indeed," said Mr Ollivander. "But that's what makes it even more strange. It is the first time that something like this happened. Anyway, let's find a proper wand for you, mister...?"

"Naruto Uzumaki, the future Hokage of Konoha!" exclaimed the blond boy cheerfully. Sakura sweatdropped and smiled cheekily at her friend's behavior, while Sasuke only grunted in annoyance.

"Uzumaki, yes, yes..." muttered the old man. "I remember your father. He was just as spirited as you were. I remember like it was yesterday. He bought his first wand here – thirteen and a half inches long, mahogany, excellent for battle spells. Now, which is your wand arm?"

Naruto looked at Sakura and Sasuke who shrugged their arms at him, "Uh, well, I guess I'm right-handed?"

"Hold out your arm," instructed Mr Ollivander and measured various places on his arm, wrist and fingers. Then he took out his own wand and pointed it high onto one of the boxes, which immediately flew down into the man's palm, "Here you are. Eight and a half inches, mahogany, dragon heartstring. Take it and give it a wave."

Naruto lifted his hand, only to have the wand snatched away, "No, no, no. Nine inches, ebony and unicorn hair, very flexible,"

The boy did a small wave with this wand, but it was snatched away as quickly as the other one, "Ten inches, rosewood, springy,"

That wand turned out to be a wrong one, too, as well as the other ten that Naruto has tried. The boy was growing more and more bored and the flicks of his wrist were already automatic. Sasuke found it a perfect opportunity to approach his pink-haired teammate with a question he has been meaning to ask her since he had heard Kakashi and the barman talk the day before.

"Sakura," he said as he neared her.

The girl turned around to look at her crush and tried her best to look uninterested, "Hm? What is it, Sasuke?"

"You've been reading these books about the wizarding world and I wonder..." he trailed off. "Have you got any clue what made that barman so uneasy when he was talking to Kakashi yesterday?"

The girl turned back to look out the window wistfully. She should have known that the only reason he would approach her for could be her knowledge, "I might... suspect something," she admitted.

"Tell me about it," demanded Sasuke.

"To keep it short," started Sakura in a hushed voice. "there was once a wizard, who wanted to control the whole wizarding world. He recruited some other men to help him and called them the Death Eaters. A freaky name if you ask me," she paused, shuddering before saying the next words. "He murdered those who dared to stand up to him. One of his main goals was to... kill all the Muggle-borns." she finished.

Sasuke nodded, "So, he wanted everyone to fear him," he pointed out. "And succeeded."

"Yes," Sakura whispered. "But around thirteen years ago he cast a killing curse on the boy named Harry Potter. The spell backfired, leaving the boy with a mere scar and, _supposedly_, killing Lord Voldemort."

"Suposedly?" asked Sasuke, when Naruto threw one of the wrong wands into the corner angrily. "You mean they are not really sure if he's dead?"

"They _were_ sure," said the girl. "until this Harry Potter boy encountered him again – two times. I don't know the details, didn't have time to read about it."

"So these rumors must be about this Voldemort coming back," concluded Sasuke before they both nearly jumped after hearing Naruto's shout.

Ollivander handed Naruto yet another wand, "Picky customer, but don't worry, we'll find a right one for you. Here – ten inches, walnut, dragon heartstring. Very flexible. Try it,"

Naruto lifted his right hand with a wand in it, did a little wave and, out of sudden, a stream of multiple colored sparks shot out of the end of it. Mr Ollivander clapped enthusiastically, "Ah, yes! I should have known it sooner, you have quite a similar taste to your father. Very good choice, indeed. Fantastic wand, excellent for battle spells and shields." he put the wand back into the box and handed it to Naruto. Then, he turned to Sasuke, who stood by the wall with hands in his pockets.

"Sasuke Uchiha," he introduced himself and held out his arm. "Right-handed."

"Very good Mr Uchiha, we shall find the right wand for you." he said and sent the tape measure to do the job for him. "You are the brother of the boy who bought a wand from me two years ago. Yes, his and you father's wand were both made especially for transfiguration. And your mother – a very delicate woman, her wand resembled her perfectly,"

Ollivander held out the box with a wand to Sasuke, "Eleven and a half inches, oak, dragon heartstring. Whippy."

Sasuke made a lazy wave with the wand and suddenly, hundreds of boxes fell from the highest shelf in the shop. Sakura and Naruto both gasped, Ollivander only nodded his head fiercely at the boy, "Ah, very powerful! So much magic flows in your body, boy. But this is not a wand for you. Here, I think this should be a good one – twelve inches, blackthorn, phoenix feather, unyielding,"

Sasuke took the wand in his hand and his body immediately felt a sudden wave of warmth. He swished the wand down and saw sparks erupt from its end, similar to the ones that Naruto produced just a moment ago, "I think it's the right one," he said.

"It is indeed, my boy," confirmed Ollivander with a small smile. He turned to his only female customer at last. "Now please, come closer, young lady."

Sasuke was in the middle of examining his new wand as Sakura took few steps towards the shopkeeper. She didn't make it to him, though – a soft thud interrupted her; Ollivander looked down to see a narrow box laying at his feet. He lifted the box and opened it, "Hm, ten and a half inches, cherry, unicorn hair. Swishy,"

Ollivander handed the wand to the girl. The moment it touched her palm, she was surrounded by pink light and Sasuke swore he saw her hair color change to a darker one – but that could have been only an illusion. Pretty red sparks erupted from the wand as Sakura flicked it.

Mr Ollivander did not hide his enthusiasm, "Incredible! Very beautiful, miss Haruno,"

Sasuke did not ask how he knew her name. He stood behind his teammate, clutching her shoulder protectively, "What happened?" he asked.

"It happens sometimes," explained the old man. "that the wand makes itself known for its future owner. That's why this one fell down from its shelf right in front of me. You see, some of the wands are designed _especially_ for a particular person; it is a sign of a strong bond between it and the owner."

Sakura smiled and placed her new wand in a box securely, "Well, I'm happy then,"

"You should be, it is very rare," said the man. "I know someone who owns a very similar wand to this one. But... I think you'll learn that someday on your own."

* * *

Harry silently thanked God when he was thrown face-first out of Weasley's kitchen fire – he was already beginning to feel sick at stomach and could notice the after-effects of the spinning; that was the reason he did not enjoy traveling by using the Floo powder really much. He hoped that he wouldn't have to do that anytime soon; yet he had a strange feeling that he would have to get used to it – he was an inhabitant of the wizarding world after all and didn't plan to change that state of things in the nearest of future (or ever, in fact).

Through his dust-covered glasses Harry could faintly make out the outlines of Weasley's family members – the twins, Fred and George were casually sitting on the table with Harry's best friend Ron next to them; he noticed two other red-heads, too, one of which he identified as Charlie. The second one, who turned out to be Bill (which came as a suprise to Harry – he had not imagined the Gringotts worker and a former Hogwart's Head Boy to look so casual with his long hair pulled back in a ponytail and an earring with a fang in his ear) took his hand and helped him up with a smile. Behind him, Harry heard a long set of coughs and a second later the black-haired man, whose hairstyle resembled the shape of a pot, emerged out of the fire. The man dragged Harry's trunk with him and sat on the nearby chair just in time to see the front door open.

"Ah, you're here, Harry!" Mr Weasley came inside the house, having just apparated outside. "I'm sorry I could not get you personally, but I am sure that Gai has done a good job himself. I assume that everything went smoothly?"

Before the boy could open his mouth, Gai sprung out of his seat and took the pose that strangely reminded him of a soldier saluting, "_Hai_! I arrived at Harry Potter's place at the given time via the Floo Network! After some minor protests," Harry snorted at this. "from the Dursley family I managed to safely transport Mr Potter and his belongings to the Burrow!"

Ron leaned over the table to whisper into Harry's ear, "He's weird, but don't mind him," he grinned. "He's actually pretty smart when you get to know him, despite his strange behavior. And he's just as obsessed with muggles as Dad is. I guess that's why they stick together at times."

Mr Weasley strolled over to Gai and plopped down on the nearby chair, "I'm exhausted. We had a tiny disaster not far from here; a crazy witch tried to make some muggle pictures she got from her friend to move and she accidentally made them come alive. I had to do some chasing and memory erasing. How I hate some people's stupidity,"

"Oh, really?" they heard a voice behind them. "Then why did you keep that old car?"

Mrs Weasley has just entered the kitchen, along with two other girls – the bushy-haired one was Hermione, Harry's other best friend, while the red-haired one was Ron's little sister, Ginny. The twins, Fred and George, appeared behind them. George chuckled, "That's because Dad's obsessed with those things, don't you know, Mum?"

"It's gone now, anyway," mumbled Mr Weasley, not without a hint of accusation as he glanced at Harry and Ron.

Ron fidgeted visibly and tugged at Harry's sleeve, "Uh, let's go, I'll show you where you sleep, Harry,"

Harry wanted to say that he knew where – he slept in Ron's room the last time he stayed at the Burrow, but Hermione caught his other sleeve and dragged him towards the doorway, "Let's go," she said in the tone that left no place for discussion. Fred and George attempted to follow them but were stopped by the furious voice of Mrs Weasley who scolded them for yet another prank they had performed.

The trio went out of the kitchen and made their way to the long stairway as Harry spoke, "Why is your Mum so angry at them?"

"Oh, generally it's because they didn't get as many O.W.L.'s as she has expected them to," Ron snorted. "And they also argue about their future. Mum wants them to find decent positions in the Ministry, while they want to open a joke-shop."

"Well, Mrs Weasley's face _did_ have a funny expression when she learned that they actually invented some interesting things," Hermione said, as she opened the door to Ron's room and sat down on his bed. "They do have some brains after all."

"Anyway, Harry, we wanted to tell you some news," Ron said. "You know that each year there were a couple of students, usually three or so, who were sorted into the Houses and started at their fourth year, not first? You asked me about it once, but I didn't really get into the details, since it wasn't so important at the time."

"Yeah, I remember that. So what about it?" asked Harry curiously, before Hermione opened her mouth to explain. She told him all about the ninja, the transfer students and the deal that the Hokage made with Dumbledore all that years ago, "Listen, we wouldn't be telling you all of that, but something strange happened two days ago."

"Right after Hermione arrived, Dad had an unexpected visit," Ron stopped, when Hermione gestured him with her hand to stop talking. She cast a silencing spell and motioned him to continue, "from _Dumbledore_."

"Dumbledore?" Harry was definitely interested by now. "He wouldn't come here if it wasn't something extremely important."

"That's the point," Hermione started pacing around the room, which usually meant she was excited. "Well, we overheard some of the conversation – not much, unfortunately. They were talking about a girl – she's apparently one of those transfer students – and how she shouldn't discover something. Dumbledore repeated a few times that it is very important to keep the _truth_ from her and the other members of _the_ family. He said it's the matter of her own _and _the whole wizarding community safety."

"Well," Harry said and looked at Hermione and Ron in the way that usually meant they were going to get in some trouble. "we have to find out what's the big secret about, right?"

Ron nodded his head thoughtfully, "We have to find out who the girl they've been talking about is, first,"

"It shouldn't be too difficult," interrupted Hermione. "Among the two or three transfer students is usually only one girl. We'll have to check her family tree and all the stuff concerning her ancestors."

"We have to wait till we get to Hogwarts," added Harry. "Then we'll know who the mysterious girl is."

Hermione have just finished casting the counter spell to _Silencio _when Fred and George barged inside the room with a loud bang, nearly making the door fall out of the hinges. George held the newest _Daily Prophet_ in his hands, "You won't believe it-" he started.

"-it's so fantastic-"

"-absolutely fabolous!"

Ron snatched the newspaper from his brother's hands and looked at the cover. Harry and Hermione peeked over his shoulder to find out what's the whole fuss about. The photo on the cover presented a pretty girl with long blond hair on a big stage – apparently a concert or so. Ron read the article out loud, "_The famous singer and talented young witch Carissa Wilmore, who will perform on the Quidditch World Cup finals in a few days, surprised the press and wizarding community with the recent news of her unexpected transfer to the Hogwarts School of Witchraft and Wizardry. Having previously attended the prestigious Beauxbatons Academy, she shocked everyone with her sudden decision to change schools. So far, no one gave an actual justification for Wilmore's actions. All we know is that she will be sorted in the House the same way as other first-years and attend her fourth-_ blah, blah, blah. I can't believe it, another celebrity in our school,"

Hermione snorted, "I wouldn't expect anything spectacular from her. She's probably nothing more than good looks and a nice voice. Another stuck-up girly-"

"Hey, hey!" George interrupted her ranting. "How can you know that? Maybe she's a nice girl, you never know. And she's pretty-"

"-no, she's beautiful-" added Fred.

"-extremely cute-"

"-unbelievably hot-"

"Alright, alright," snorted Ron while reading the rest of the article. "she's pretty, okay – I think so, too. But you two are _completely_ obsessed with her."

"Oh come on, isn't she beautiful?" whined George and shoved the newspaper into Harry's hands. "Harry, you think so, don't you?"

Harry took a look at the colorful cover once again. The girl had long, slightly wavy honey-blond hair. Her eyes were big and green and he admitted that boys could easily get enticed by them. She had a beautiful smile, too – her teeth were so white they were almost shining. She wore a loose, violet dress and flat shoes. She wasn't really his type, but he was sure that she will have large groups of boys following her at Hogwarts. Finally, he nodded at the twins, "Well, yeah. She _is_ beautiful, I can see why you are so obsessed,"

"Ha, you see, Hermione?" shouted Fred triumphantly. "All right, gotta go, I have to think up various ways to ask Carissa out on a date."

"Me too," added George as the twins fled out of the room.

Hermione huffed angrily at the boys and turned her back to them, crossing her arms in the process, "Lovesick puppies," she muttered.

"Come on, Hermione," Ron didn't hide his amusement at the girl's apparent jealousy. "We're not like Fred and George."

"And there's something you failed to notice," the dark-haired boy pointed out. "Our mysterious girl no longer has to be one of the ninjas. Carissa Wilmore is a transfer student, too."

* * *

**Important notes:** I try to follow the plot of 'The Goblet of Fire' as much as I can, at least in the beginning. The major changes will come up later in the story.

**Next chapter:** Part two of the shopping spree, the ninjas meet more of the 'Harry Potter' characters and finally they start using magic.


	3. the duel, the lesson and the discovery

**A/N: **This chapter turned out shorter than the previous one, but it's still over 7,000 words. It's pretty long, I think. I hope it's not boring - it's still about three chapters before they arrive at Hogwarts and get sorted.

Thank you for all your reviews! There's not much (it's funny that a lot of people read it, put it in their favs and alerts, but don't review) but still I'm thankful. Now I'd like to answer some of the reviewers:

Diamonds-r-4ever-so-am-i:there will be many important characters in that story and Sakura will be one of them, but I can't say that she's the main character (I don't think there's going to be one anyway).

Angelic Sakura Blossom: sorry, I can't spoil the surprise. :) You're going to have to wait for a while (actually a long while). :)

Wind Kunai: thanks so much for your long review! I'm really happy that you like it so much. :) You won't be able to find out about that wand in the Internet, but there will be some clues in the story later on. I hope you enjoy this chapter as much.

Please help me decide the **pairings** for Hermione and Ron. Should I have them together or with someone else?

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto, nor Harry Potter. They belong to Kishimoto and Rowling respectively.

* * *

**THE WIZARDING NINJAS  
and the Triwizard Tournament**

**Chapter Three: **_the duel, the lesson and the discovery

* * *

_

Sakura turned yet another page of the thick book she was currently holding. She was completely absorbed in the reading – yes, she has always liked reading, but this time it was slightly different. Actually it was the wizarding world that interested her so – everything from the magical creatures, spells and potions to the structure of the Ministry of Magic made it difficult for her to tear her eyes away from the text.

Sakura lifted her eyes reluctantly to her teammate's face as he plopped down next to her and put his back against the tree, "What are you reading, Sakura-chan?" the blonde asked as he closed his eyes, panting heavily. Sakura reached out to heal the multiple scratches on her teammate's skin. The small clearing they've discovered three days ago was perfect for training as well as relaxing, that's why they spent lot a of their time here, when they weren't at the Leaky Cauldron or shopping on the Diagon Alley which Sakura secretly came to love.

"I'm reading a book about the subjects on Hogwarts. You should also read it, Naruto," the girl suggested. "Kakashi-sensei said that we'll have to choose at least two elective courses we want to take before we arrive at the Hogwarts."

"_Elective courses_?" Naruto shook his head dejectedly. "It's like the Academy all over again..."

"It's going to be much more difficult and tiring than the Academy," Sasuke closed the book he had just finished and sat up. "Passing the Ninja Academy exams is relatively easy. Practically everyone manage to do it," Naruto flinched, remembering his first unsuccessful attempt to pass the final exam. "These... O.W.L.'s and N.E.W.T.'s are a totally different story. It requires a lot of practicing and learning to do well on them."

Sakura smiled. Even though a lot of people saw Sasuke as a more of 'practical' kind of guy, he was actually very smart, too. Three days ago he approached her and asked to borrow some of her books and now he could be seen reading them almost everywhere. He simply understood that they needed to learn about this world in order to be able to understand it better and fit it. Sakura looked at her other teammate, who spent his every free moment practicing ninja skills, "Naruto, don't forget that the other students are three years ahead of us,"

The blonde sighed, "But shouldn't Kakashi be the one to teach us?"

"Do you see him here, dobe?" muttered Sasuke. Kakashi disappeared after telling them that he has an important meeting and will be back shortly. That was nearly two days ago. Now all (almost – see _Naruto_) the ninjas either bought or borrowed books and tried to learn as much as they could during their sensei's absence, "Sakura, can I take this one after you finish?" the dark-haired boy continued, pointing to the book in the girl's hands.

"Sure," the girl smiled and handed him the book. "Actually, I've just finished it."

Naruto scooted over to the pinkette, "So, do you know now what subjects you want to learn?" he asked curiously.

"Oh, it's so difficult to choose, they're all so fantastic," she said. "I'd like to take Care of the Magical Creatures and Arithmancy courses for sure, but Muggle Studies and Study of Ancient Runes sound exciting, too!"

Naruto snorted. He did not find them exciting at all.

Sasuke got back to his comfortable position and opened the book Sakura gave him to start reading. He glanced at Naruto one last time before he started reading, "I suggest that you start learning if you want to survive in that school at all," he muttered with a scoff.

Naruto was getting ready to launch at his arrogant teammate when his crush's voice stopped him, "And, if you don't want to be left behind Sasuke," she added in a sweet voice, smirking at Sasuke secretly when Naruto growled.

"Sakura-chan, can you give me one of these books here?"

* * *

Her eyes followed his movements from the window in her room as she watched him follow Ron outside. She fought a traitorous blush that threatened to appear on her face; she felt stupid and embarrassed for still having this hopeless crush on _the_ Harry Potter.

He was _The-Boy-Who-Lived_. And who was she? A little sister of his best friend, the one that was foolish enough to fall right into Tom Riddle's trap two years ago. Ginny Weasley could never attract his attention, no matter what she did.

And when she tried to forget about the childish crush, the one that lingered from the very first time she saw him, Ginny could not do it. Even now, when she learned about his obvious feelings towards that Ravenclaw fifth-year, Cho Chang. What's worse, she couldn't bring herself to tell him about the girl's relationship with Cedric Diggory, which she found out about from Luna Lovegood, a slightly crazy Ravenclaw from her year. She just couldn't risk hurting him.

"Ginny?" a voice spoke tentatively from the door. "Your mother wants you to come join us for the dinner downstairs."

"I'll be down in a sec," the red-head answered distantly, her eyes still focused on the sight outdoors. Her older brothers were levitating a large table outside while Harry and Ron carried plates in their arms.

Hermione reached the younger girl and followed her eyes, "Oh, Ginny," she murmured, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder. She felt bad for the girl, the one-sided affection she held for Harry was really hurting her.

"It's okay, Hermione," Ginny plopped on her bed with a forced smile. "I think I'm starting to accept it. Slowly."

"I'm not telling you to forget or force it completely out of your mind, but..." Hermione trailed off. "maybe you should just enjoy yourself. Look at other boys, be a little more... relaxed about the whole thing. You know what I mean, Ginny."

The girl nodded feebly. Hermione's words seemed wise – she shouldn't be stuck on Harry for the rest of her life, she should start dating other boys. Maybe he would notice her someday and if not... she would simply have to come to terms with it, "You're right. Thanks, Hermione," she sent the older girl a real smile and stood up, suddenly struck with a sudden wave of energy. "Let's go downstairs, shall we?"

* * *

Kakashi bowed to the man in front of him slightly. He was one of the few people whom he truly respected and admired – he was a person to be trusted in every possible situation. That's why, with this particular problem, he decided to turn right to him, "Professor,"

"Ah, Kakashi Hatake, long time no see," Albus Dumbledore smiled, gesturing the man to sit down. They were in the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts, a place Kakashi used to visit a lot of times during his own schooling, but now barely remembered the way it looked, "Please, call me Albus. No need for the formalities, you are no longer a student."

Kakashi nodded and make his way to the particular shelf where small phials were located. He took out his wand and reached for the empty one, "Can I?" he asked and as the old man nodded, he pointed the wand to his head. A stream of blue light appeared and Kakashi led it to the small phial in his hand, successfully filling it.

Albus Dumbledore watched the process carefully, "I suspect that this memory concerns the girl?"

"It's the conversation I had had with Hokage-sama yesterday," the man explained. "It concerns the current situation in Konoha... Albus, you need to understand that I am disobeying the Hokage's orders by coming here."

"I see," Dumbledore nodded. "So it must be something very important. I shall look at it later."

Kakashi got up from his seat and made his way to his former teacher, "Albus, the things are not good back in Konoha. We are on the verge of war and I am positive that it is connected with the last happenings in the wizarding world."

"Yes, I know about the Sound village," nodded Dumbledore. "But can you tell me why did Tsunade fail to tell me about it?"

"She believes that we can't rely on the help of the wizards forever," Kakashi shook his head wistfully. "She will never understand the wizarding world fully. She is a ninja, a very powerful ninja, but not a witch. That's why she doesn't understand that our worlds are connected. Because it is not a coincidence that so many chuunins will start attending the Hogwarts this year, am I right?"

"I believe so," nodded Dumbledore. "It is also not a coincidence that they are at the same year as Harry Potter."

"That boy is very powerful, isn't he? That Harry Potter," inquired Kakashi. "By the way, I got an owl from Mr Ollivander today concerning Sasuke Uchiha. He wrote that he haven't seen anyone with that big amount of magic in his body since he sold a wand to Tom Riddle."

"This is very interesting, indeed," admitted Dumbledore. "Has he mentioned any of the others?"

"He called Neji Hyuuga, Shino Aburame and Tenten Ming very powerful, too," continued Kakashi. "And he believes that Hinata Hyuuga and Sakura Haruno posses some rare magical abilities."

"We'll have to check it eventually,"

"Professor..." Kakashi trailed off. "I've been meaning to ask you this question for a long time. Do you think that the Dark Lord will come back?"

Albus Dumbledore sat down and looked at his former student from behind of his glasses, "It is a very controversial question. Many suspect that he might find a way to regain his power, others find the idea ridiculous. If you want to know my opinion then yes. Yes, I believe that he will get back to his powerful self."

"And what do you want to do about it?" asked Kakashi, a little irritated about the man's nonchalance.

"We can try to stop him," Dumbledore answered. "but I believe it is useless."

"So what will happen when he gets his power back?"

"We'll leave it to the ones that are the most suitable to fight him," Dumbledore said as he handed him a pile of shiny tickets. "They'll be ready."

Kakashi nodded and looked at the pieces of paper in his hands, "Quidditch World Cup finals? You want me to take them here?"

"It will be a perfect opportunity to teach them more about the wizarding community," Dumbledore smiled, his eyes sparkling behind the glasses. "How are the lessons going along, by the way?"

Kakashi fidgeted nervously with a sheepish smile on his face. He didn't want to admit that he hasn't taught them anything yet – he wanted to, really, but important matters came up and he had to take care of them instead. They should be absorbing some theoretical knowledge from the books anyway. Somehow, he didn't think that Naruto would read even a single chapter, though. Foolish boy.

Dumbledore stared at him expectantly but Kakashi was spared from answering. Professor Minerva McGonagall dashed into the office, her expression furious and cheeks slightly pinkish, probably from running along the long corridors of the Hogwarts. The woman nodded feebly at Kakashi before turning to the Headmaster, "Albus, I can't stand it any longer," she said simply.

Dumbledore looked at the woman with a small smile, "What happened, Minerva?"

"These journalists are driving me crazy!" she muttered. "They keep on harassing me and all the other teachers about that Wilmore girl. And that woman, Skeeter, she just appears out of nowhere! I really can't put up with this anymore."

"Calm down, Minerva, I'll talk to them," reassured the man. "Kakashi, I believe you should go back to your students?"

Hatake nodded and thanked God for this interruption. Soon, he left the office quietly.

Dumbledore could hardly conceal a sigh when he thought about the journalists. Answering the unnecessary questions was probably one of the few things he actually loathed.

* * *

On the fourth morning they spent in the Leaky Cauldron the teams met up for breakfast as usual. Tom made sure they got a delicious breakfast and even managed to get some ramen for Naruto, who was so delighted that he actually enveloped the poor barman in a tight hug. Hinata and Sakura, who were watching the scene from the doorway, giggled at the traces of embarrassment visible on Tom's face.

"N-naruto-kun l-loves his precious r-ramen so m-much," stuttered Hinata with a small blush on her face.

"I believe he loves ramen more than anything in this world," grumbled Sakura as they settled down for the breakfast.

The ninjas ate slowly, chatting about the wizarding world and the books they have already read. Eventually they started conversing about Hogwarts and the subjects they wanted to take and the houses they wanted to be in. The breakfast was uneventful so far, until a man appeared next to the long table, startling Chouji who was devouring his fifth plate of food.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura exclaimed angrily. "You're back at least! Where have you been? You're supposed to teach us!"

"We can't learn everything from the books," added Shikamaru with his expression as lazy as ever. "We need some practice with our wands, too."

"I'm sorry," said Kakashi and probably for the first time in his career gave a truthful reason for his lateness. "I had to visit Tsunade-sama and the Headmaster of your school. _And _I had to get the allowance for you to use magic outside of school. Because, as you probably know from the books you've read already," he sent a look at the fidgeting Naruto, "students are not allowed to use magic outside of school. Now you can practice but _only_ under my supervision or in your rooms at the Leaky Cauldron." he finished.

"So we're actually going to use wands now?" asked Ino excitedly.

"Yes," admitted Kakashi. "Actually I was hoping we could start the lesson now, if you're done with the breakfast."

The teens nodded and followed Kakashi who lead them up the stairs and into his room. It was a lot bigger than their own rooms and when the jounin used his wand to place all the furniture by the walls it was big enough for all of them to stand in the middle and have a lot of space for themselves.

"As Shikamaru has mentioned," started Kakashi. "Reading books to learn using magic is not enough. The essential part is to be able to control your wand perfectly in order to make the spell work exactly the way it should."

"Is it something similar to perfecting chakra control?" asked Neji.

"You could say that," said Kakashi, took out his wand and gestured them to do the same. "The essential part is concentration. Without concentrating on the spell, you won't be able to use it correctly. Also, the wrist movement and saying the words properly is crucial."

Kakashi motioned the ninja to come closer to him where he placed several kunais on the ground, "Let's start with a simple levitating spell. First-years at Hogwarts learn it on Charms. Now, does anyone know how to cast a levitating spell?"

Sakura lifted her hand shyly, "I can try," she said. Kakashi nodded and gestured her to continue. The girl lifted her wand, "_Windgarium Leviosa_!" she exclaimed and swished her wand. One of the kunais gently lifted into air and moved as Sakura instructed it to with her wand. The rest of the ninjas stared at her with awe, even Sasuke activated his Sharingan to memorize the movement of her hand.

"Very good, Sakura! You did that on your first try, I'm impressed," he complimented the flushed girl. "It seems you're not only an expert in controlling the chakra, but also in casting spells."

And then they started practicing the spell, some of them – such as Shikamaru (who got it on his fourth try), Neji (whose kunai kept falling down at the first few tries before he managed to control it) and Sasuke (who made his launch into air and embed itself in the ceiling on the first try) managed to cast the spell successfully really quickly while some of the others experienced a lot of problems with it. Naruto and Kiba's kunais refused to lift while Chouji's fell down as soon as it rose. The rest did relatively well, but still needed more practice. Kakashi was walking from one student to another, trying to help them with the movements and words.

"Alright," Kakashi interrupted. "I see that some of you still need more practice, but you can do it later in your rooms. Now I would like to show you several other spells I want you to know. You're lucky that with you being a ninja it is easier for you to learn a spell than for a normal person, since you have chakra as well. When you get back to your rooms, I expect you to practice them as long as you get them right, understand? I'll check it on the tomorrow's session."

Kakashi ignored Naruto and Kiba's groans and approached Sasuke, "Now, I think that Sasuke will be the best one to show us the next spell, since I can see that his spells are very powerful. It is used to make a small explosion. Try to use it, Sasuke," he explained the movement and pronunciation to the boy, "Cast it on my wardrobe. Don't worry, I'll repair it later." he reassured.

Sasuke shrugged his arms. He didn't know if he could cast the spell correctly but he would try it at least, "_Bombarda_!" he exclaimed.

Kakashi lifted his hand and quickly cast a shield spell to protect himself and the rest of the group from the huge explosion. The wardrobe, along with a bed and desk nearby, tore into pieces that flew everywhere, creating a considerable amount of dust in the room.

Kakashi coughed as he removed the dust with a flick of his wand and stared at the sight in front of him. The three pieces of furniture were completely destroyed. He turned to stare at Sasuke incredibly, who in turn just shrugged his arms helplessly. How was he supposed to know that his spell will cause so much destruction?

"Uh, well," murmured Kakashi uncertainly, apparently still shocked at his student's performance of incredible power. "I guess we should try a repairing spell right now?

"_Reparo_!" it was Sakura who cast a spell. She watched as the pieces mended together to create exactly the same wardrobe, desk and bed as before. "Kakashi-sensei, isn't 'Bombarda' a spell used to create small explosions?"

"It usually is. We use the other version of the spell, 'Bombarda Maxima', to create an explosion like this," the wizard explained. "But sometimes, if the person casting the spell is very powerful and puts all of his might in it, the explosion may be a lot bigger, just like the one Sasuke created," he continued. "I'm impressed, by the way. And you did good with the repairing spell, too, Sakura."

The group practiced the two spells, but no one, even Neji and Shino whose 'Bombarda' spells were also impressive, didn't manage to beat Sasuke's explosions. Afterwards, they practiced a few other spells, such as 'Accio', 'Alohomora', 'Silencio' and 'Sonorus'. The lesson lasted for the whole day with a brief break for the dinner.

* * *

"Whoa, I'm beat," murmured Naruto when he plopped down on a bed in their room. After hours of practicing he finally managed to cast some of the spells properly, but still had a lot of work to do.

"_Accio book_," murmured Sasuke as soon as he entered the room. He watched with satisfaction as the book flew right into his outstretched palm. "Practice, dobe. You're still far behind me and Sakura." he said. Sakura fought a light blush that threatened to make its way onto her face – after all it wasn't everyday that her stoic teammate complimented her. She became even more perplexed when Sasuke approached her and asked, "Can you help me with those enlarging and reducing spells?"

"Yes, of course, Sasuke," she smiled and started explaining her method of using the spells to the boy, while Naruto lay on his bed with his eyes closed.

Sasuke cast a look at the blonde, "You listen, too, dobe. If you don't want to lose to me,"

"You are so full of yourself, huh?" growled Naruto as he sprang from his seat. "How about a duel, then? Only using our wands, no ninja skills, no contact."

"Naruto, it's not really a good idea," interrupted Sakura with a small frown on her face. She regretted giving Naruto a book about the wizard's duels now. "I am the only one here and both of you should have seconds, according to the tradition."

"We don't need the seconds," growled Naruto, determined to prove himself worthy to his rival and Sakura's eyes. "It's not like we're fighting to death."

"Naruto!" Sakura approached him and shook his arms gently. "You really shouldn't do it, we have just started learning the spells. Besides you learned only a couple offensive spells and-"

"Sakura," the girl turned around when she heard Sasuke speak. "If he's so determined, then we should let him prove himself. You will be there after all, so nothing bad can happen."

The pinkette let go of the boy reluctantly and left the two staring at themselves from across the room. Sasuke bowed slightly, still staring at Naruto, who did the same and turned around. Sakura counted the steps as they walked.

"Three-

-two-

-one-

-GO!"

"_Ventus_!" shouted Naruto with his wand pointed at the dark-haired boy.

"_Petrificus tot_-" Sasuke stumbled backwards as a strong blast of wind from Naruto's wand hit him, making it difficult to stand straight, but managed to regain his composure quick enough to say, "_Serpensortia._"

A snake appeared from Sasuke's wand and started slithering towards Naruto slowly. The other boy stared at it for a moment before lifting his wand, "_Vipera evanesca_!" the snake turned into a pile of ashes.

Sasuke quirked a brow, "Dobe, you actually read that book. I'm impressed, you can read after all,"

The enraged Naruto pointed his wand at the nearby chair and screamed, "_Waddiwasi_!" the chair fled towards Sasuke at the incredible speed.

"_Evanesco_!" shouted Sasuke, successfully making the chair disappear. "Is that all you have, dobe?" he asked arrogantly.

The boy pointed his wand down at the floor, "_Incendio_!" he grinned as the carpet was set on fire.

Sasuke didn't seem to be fazed at all, "_Aguamenti_." the fire was gone in a blink of an eye. "Don't tell me that you don't know any spell which I can't counter." he smirked.

Naruto screamed, "_Expelliarmus_!" just as Sasuke shouted, "_Protego_!"

"_Rictusempra_!" screamed Naruto finally, swishing his wand high in air.

The spell hit Sasuke, who struggled for a moment, but somehow managed to regain control of himself enough to scream, "_Locomotor mortis_!"

Naruto fell down with a thud, confused. He couldn't move his legs. He tried to reach his wand when he heard Sasuke mutter, "_Accio_." his wand flew right into Sasuke's hand. The dark-haired boy had somehow managed to neutralize the effect of the tickling spell and summoned his wand. He cursed silently.

Sasuke hovered over the immobilized Naruto with a triumphant smirk, "You should bear it in your mind that some people are more resistant to the particular types of spells than others,"

"Bastard," Naruto managed to utter out.

Sakura approached her teammates, "_Finite incantatem_." she said and the boy could finally feel his legs again.

"Thank you, Sakura-chan," he murmured shamefully.

"Naruto," Sakura put her arm around the boy. "I think you did great. 'Rictusempra' was a little weak, but the other spells were fantastic! And even I didn't know that one that changed the snake into the ashes. You think you could teach me that one?"

Sasuke sent the girl a somehow doubtful look from behind the blonde's back, but she paid no heed to it. She smiled widely at Naruto instead, who seemed to be delighted, "Sure, Sakura-chan! Let's go visit Hinata-chan! I'll show her my excellent battle spells!"

"Of course, Naruto," she smiled as she repaired the burnt carpet and scourgified the whole room. "Go, I'll come in a minute, okay?"

The blonde dashed out of the room as Sasuke approached Sakura, his big ego making him a little mad that the girl complimented Naruto, who actually lost, instead of him. Or maybe he was simply jealous, but didn't want to admit it, "You want him to teach a spell, huh?" he teased her – he was positive that she knew it, they talked about it earlier during Kakashi's lesson.

"You really shouldn't make it so hard for him," said Sakura. "You know he's really uncertain of this whole wizarding world – the fact that he actually was able to cast some spells successfully is an achievement for him. You know he's great at it, just a little clumsy, perhaps," she smiled at Sasuke's small nod. "I knew you were a lot better than him anyway. But it is obvious you have a natural talent for it. You were always a prodigy." she said truthfully.

"And I am aware that all you did was protect yourself. You actually used one or two offensive spells during the whole duel, but still managed to win. I don't want to know what you're really capable of," the girl reached the doorway after she had made sure that the entire mess was cleaned. "Are you coming?"

"Hn. Sakura," he murmured as the girl stopped to look at him. "You have a natural talent for magic, too."

Her cheeks were covered in a crimson blush when they left the room.

* * *

It was still hot when the nine Weasleys, Harry and Hermione settled down to eat in the backyard of the Burrow. Harry felt like he was in heaven – having previously been forced to stick with Dursleys' crazy diet, the variety of food on the table was a paradise for him. A warm and homely atmosphere improved his good mood, too, since he already treated the Weasleys like his own family.

Molly Weasley smiled warmly at Harry from her seat, "Is the food to your liking, Harry?" she asked, interrupting Percy's long monologue concerning reports, cauldrons and Mr Crouch. Even Mr Weasley seemed relieved when his son stopped talking.

"It's delicious, thank you," answered Harry with his mouth full, which earned a chuckle from the others.

Molly turned the attention to her husband, "Are there any news concerning Bertha?" she asked.

"Half of the Ministry is looking for her," said Mr Weasley. "She has been missing for a month now, went on holiday to Albania and no one has seen her since."

"Oh, Bertha Jorkin's hopeless," Percy spoke. "But still Mr Crouch and Bagman are trying hard to find her. I guess they were quite fond of her. Still they're both joking that she probably got lost. And we have lots of other – and more important – matters to take care of, anyway."

"What, like the cauldrons?" joked Ron, earning a glare from his older brother.

"You can joke as much as you want, but you'll never understand the importance of this matter," Percy huffed angrily. "But no, there is a big event coming up that we have to organize. And I'm not talking about the World Cup."

Harry looked at Ron questioningly as he shrugged his arms. He also didn't know what Percy was talking about, but suspected it to be a load of crap – his brother had the tendency to exaggerate. The boys decided to engage in a conversation with the twins and Charlie instead, who were talking about the World Cup excitedly.

"I'm counting on Ireland," said Charlie. "Since England, Scotland and Wales were practically destroyed. I still can't get over that match when England was smashed."

"And by Transylvania, no less!" Bill decided to join the talk, escaping his mother who tried to convince him to cut his hair. "It was probably their highest victory in the last decade..."

"Yeah, I also want Ireland to win," agreed Fred as he took a sip of an orange juice. "Bulgaria have got Krum, though," he informed.

"Viktor Krum's the best Quidditch player in the world!" exploded Ron suddenly. "There's no other Seeker with abilities compared to his."

George patted Harry on the back with a huge grin, "Don't listen to him. He's _in love _with Viktor Krum,"

"Says the guy who's fawning over some girl from a magazine," Hermione butted in.

Before the twins could start expressing their undying love to the singer, Charlie spoke, "Anyway, Bulgaria's got one good player, while Ireland has got seven, so I can give you ten Galleones that they will smash them."

Soon, the dinner was over and Harry, Ron and Hermione sat under the tree in the Weasley's garden, watching Hermione's cat, Crookshanks, play in the high grass. Harry felt oddly at peace here and somehow happy that he was able to spend the rest of his summer holidays with the Weasleys, who were the closest to the family he would ever have. Hermione moved closer to the boys and took out something from her pocket. Then she shoved a piece of paper into Ron's hands as he looked at her quizzically.

"I checked that Carissa Wilmore," she explained shortly. "It's her family tree."

"Well," Ron scanned the names quickly. "Carissa Enola Wilmore, a Pure-blood, daughter of Jonathan Orson Wilmore, a famous Herbologist and Meredith Estelle Wilmore (from the Prince family), a Mediwitch at Mungo's... Oh look they're connected to Diggorys through her father... But nothing more interesting so far."

"Nothing interesting?" exploded Hermione. "Look closer at the Prince family."

Harry and Ron stared hard at the paper and that's when they noticed, "Merlin! She's related to Snape!" Ron exclaimed with wide eyes.

And truthfully the family tree stated that Eileen Prince, Severus Snape's mother was actually a sister of Meredith Wilmore's mother. Thus it made Severus Carissa's uncle. Quite complicated, but the conclusion was one and only – Carissa was a close relative of their despised Potions teacher.

"I can't believe it!" gasped Ron. "She doesn't look like him at all."

"I was surprised, too," admitted Hermione. "She's a blonde after all, her eyes are not dark, her skin not pale... So I checked her parents – she obviously got her appearance from her father, who's a blonde, since her mother looks exactly like Snape. Those eyes, hair and nose... Identical."

"Ugh, I don't like her anymore," grunted Ron. "Wait till I tell Fred and George about that."

"We can't judge her just because she's Snape's relative," Harry argued. "For all you know she might not have any contact with him whatsoever."

"I agree with Harry," said Hermione. "We should wait until we get to talk to her in person before we judge her."

"Hey, you were the one who said she's stuck up only because she looks great and she's famous." teased Ron as yet another quarrel between him and Hermione started.

* * *

The shop they were currently in was – as a huge sign on it suggested – _Eeylops Owl Emporium_. Kakashi has advised them to purchase pets for themselves, possibly an owl or a cat. Naruto didn't really get what an owl might be useful for – until Sasuke hit him and explained that the owls were used in the wizarding world for communicating.

"Owls?" grumbled Naruto when he, Sasuke, Sakura, Neji, Tenten, Shikamaru and Hinata walked around the shop in search for a perfect pet. "Why the hell would someone use an owl to communicate? What about the whole 'pidgeons carrying the letters' crap?"

"Don't irritate me, Uzumaki," muttered Neji, who was forced to come here by his female teammate. He would have preferred to practice the spells to be able to beat Uchiha and take care of shopping later.

"A-ano, Sakura-chan, look at t-this one! It's s-so beautiful!" Hinata whispered, pointing at a beautiful Snowy Owl in the corner. "I t-think I'll take that o-one."

Sakura smiled, touching the beautiful bird's feathers, "How are you going to call it?"

"Delwyn," Hinata smiled as the shopkeeper approached them, "It means 'a proud friend'."

"That's a cool name, Hinata-chan!" cheered Naruto excitedly. "And your owl is much prettier than Sasuke's!"

Sasuke has apparently taken liking to an owl that was in the corner of the shop. It was a lot bigger than average owls and had dark brown feathers, so dark that they almost looked black. When Sakura glanced at the bird's eyes, she thought that its expression matched its owner perfectly. It looked like it was completely uninterested.

When Sakura asked Sasuke about a name of his new pet he mumbled, "Shing,"

"A victory, huh?" smiled Sakura. "It suits that bird."

"He's very strong," informed the shopkeeper, stroking Shing affectionately. "He can carry heavy parcels without any problems."

"You're not getting one, Sakura?" asked Tenten while fussing over Hinata's newly bought pet.

"Actually, I think I want a cat," admitted Sakura. "I have always wanted a cat back in Konoha but never had time to take care of it due to my ninja duties and work at the hospital."

"Well," said Tenten. "I'm not really sure if I want to have a pet at all."

Then a bell rang announcing the new customers' arrival – a tall, well-built and extremely handsome boy entered the shop with a black-haired Asian on his arm. They were discussing something with excited expressions on their faces and apparently looked like a couple. When he took a closer look at the Asian, Shikamaru recognized her as a girl from the clothing store he met a few days earlier.

The girl must have felt his stare because she turned around and looked at the boy, "Hi Shikamaru!" she smiled at him and led her companion to the boy.

"Cho," answered the ninja. "Hello. Are you here to buy an owl?"

"Actually, Cedric's owl died from an old age a few days ago and he wanted to have a new one," she said. "This is Cedric Diggory, by the way. Cedric, this is Shikamaru Nara. Are these your friends?" she asked, pointing to the group of ninja behind Shikamaru.

"Yes," answered Shikamaru and introduced everyone to the pair. "So, which year are you in, Cedric?"

"I'm a year above Cho, I'm starting my sixth year now," he said looking at an owl with brown feathers. "I'm a Seeker in the Hufflepuff team too. Have you played Quidditch yet?"

"We haven't," Tenten spoke, remembering the sport she learned about from a book she read the day before. "But I would so _love_ to try that."

Cho clapped her hands excitedly, "How about Cedric and I invite you for a game? We could teach you how to use brooms. And we would tell you what position is the best for you."

"Brooms?" asked Neji uncertainly. What could brooms have to do with some kind of a sport?

"Quidditch is a wizarding sport played on flying brooms," Sakura piped in.

"Flying brooms?" Naruto chuckled. "You're joking, right?"

"She's not joking, dobe," muttered Sasuke. "Though I have to tell you that it sounds strange even to me."

"_Man_," Naruto seemed dejected when he massaged his temples. "Wands, owls, goblins... and now flying brooms. My head is starting to hurt, really."

Cedric and Cho were clearly amused by the group's actions, yet curious about them too. Ninjas were always an interesting subject for normal wizards – that's why the couple wanted to get to know them better, especially since they seemed really nice. Cho glanced at Shikamaru, whom she knew the most from the whole group, and smiled, "So? Would you like to play Quidditch with us? We could fetch our friends,"

"I guess we could do it," said Sakura getting a small nod of agreement from Hinata. "We'll get to know you better and learn more about this world." she finished.

"Well, some of us are already _close_," giggled Cho, covering her mouth with her hand.

"What do you mean?" asked Tenten curiously.

Cedric was paying for his new owl as he turned to the girls, "Isn't Michael on a date with that blonde girl right now?" he asked. "I thought she was one of you."

"Ino!" Sakura fumed. "That little, _sneaky_-"

"She didn't tell us that she was going on a date," explained Tenten, seeing the bewildered faces of Cedric and Cho. "Actually she just left saying she forgot to buy one of the books."

Surprisingly, Shikamaru was the first one to end the girls' ramblings, "Let her be," he mumbled. To the pair he spoke, "We would like to play Quidditch with you and we'll bring our friends too, if you don't mind that is."

"Of course we don't mind!" Cho smiled widely. "We have to go now, but can we meet tomorrow at ten a.m. in front of Gringotts?"

"Sure." Sakura nodded. Cedric and Cho left the shop after exchanging goodbyes.

"I'm going to kill that girl, really," muttered Sakura. "How could she not tell us about it?"

"We'll make her suffer when she comes back," grinned Tenten wickedly.

After Sasuke, Hinata and Neji (who named his Gavin) paid for their owls, the pack left and visited the _Magical Menagerie_– probably the noisiest shop he has ever been in, Shikamaru noticed. The number of cages inside made it difficult to actually move. The shop sold possibly all kinds of animals – snakes, rats, cats, owls... Choosing one of the animals seemed almost impossible.

Tenten set her eyes on a cute Transforming Rabbit the moment she went in, "It's cute. I want it."

"You can't," muttered Neji, cringing at his teammate's choice of words. She never called anything or anyone _cute_, "Don't you remember what the letter said? _Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad_... It says nothing about little," he shuddered. "_cute_ Transforming Rabbits."

Tenten huffed, "I don't want any pet then,"

Meanwhile Sakura was holding a tiny white and brown ball of fur in her arms. The cat was very young and had unbelievably huge gold eyes. When the girl took it into her arms, it meowed happily and snuggled deep into her shirt, while Sakura continued to stroke it gently behind its ear.

"It's a female Chantilly cat," the saleswoman approached her. "It's only three-months old, but these cats are very loyal and require a lot of affection. They're not as active as Orientals, nor as placid as Persians."

"She's perfect," exclaimed Sakura who was already in love with the small kitty. "I'll take her. You'll be Fiona, because you are so beautiful." she added to the kitty which meowed in agreement.

Shikamaru chose a medium-height male Toyger cat that resembled a 'mini tiger'. It looked very proud and intelligent, that's why he called it Veda that meant 'knowledge'. After the duo paid for their new cats, the whole group left the shop. They were nearing the exit of the Diagon Alley when they noticed the absence of one particularly noisy person.

"Where's the dobe?" asked Sasuke, looking around. The obnoxious blonde was nowhere in sight.

"Maybe he stayed in the _Magical Menagerie_?" suggested Sakura with worry etched on her face. "We should come back for him. You know how he is – he might get lost and-"

She was interrupted by loud screaming from the behind, "Sakura-chan! Sasuke-teme! Wait for me!"

"H-here you a-are Naruto-kun," Hinata let out a sigh of relief. "W-we were w-worried about you. What is t-that?" she asked suddenly, pointing to a green _thing_ covered in black spots in the blonde's hand.

"It's my new toad," Naruto answered proudly. "I called him Perri. Isn't it nice?"

"What kind of name is _that_, dobe? Isn't it a female name?" muttered Sasuke, bewildered by his teammate's naivety. "And why the hell did you buy a toad of all the animals? You could have chosen anything."

"It looks even worse than Gamabunta, too," Sakura added after examining _Perri_ carefully.

"Hey, it looks good!" argued Naruto. "I like toads, thank you very much!"

The rest of the ninjas watched the bickering teammates, sweatdropping, "Some things never change," Shikamaru muttered with a sigh.

* * *

**Important notes: **the 'truth' that Harry, Ron and Hermione are trying to find out about this mystery girl is not the fact that Snape is Carissa's relative. It doesn't eliminate her from their search, though. And in this story Cho and Cedric are already a couple and Tenten's surname is Ming.

Oh, and one more thing-the reason that Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura were able to use so many spells already is that the ninjas can learn them a lot faster. Also they read the books and memorized the hand movements etc.

**Next chapter: **The ninjas play Quidditch for the first time and then they set off for the finals (just as Harry, Hermione and the Weasleys).

Please, review! I'm verry happy that you put the story on your favs and alerts, but your opinion really matters to me the most. :)


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